FBI asked to investigate allegations women were offered cash to accuse Robert Mueller of sexual assault

Robert Mueller's office has referred the allegations to the FBI for investigation. (Andrew Harnik / AP)

Robert Mueller recently asked the FBI to investigate a possible scam in which women were offered cash to fabricate sexual misconduct accusations against him, a representative for the special counsel revealed Tuesday.

In a rare statement, Mueller’s top spokesman, Peter Carr, said the special counsel team became aware of the alleged payoff scheme last week.

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“We immediately referred the matter to the FBI for investigation,” Carr said, calling the claims against Mueller “false.”

The FBI declined to comment.

A U.S. official confirmed to the Daily News that the special counsel’s office learned of the apparent scheme from reporters inquiring about receiving emails from a Florida woman who alleged right-wing conspiracy theorist Jack Burkman had offered her more than $20,000 to come forward with misconduct claims against Mueller, who’s probing possible collusion between President Trump’s 2016 campaign and the Russian government.

The woman’s email, which was screen-grabbed and posted on social media by several journalists, states someone identifying himself as Bill Christensen recently called and asked her questions about Mueller, whom she said she worked for as a paralegal at the San Francisco offices of law firm Pillsbury, Winthrop, Shaw & Pittman in the 1970s.

Christensen, speaking in a British accent, told the unidentified woman he represented Burkman, a GOP lobbyist infamous for perpetuating a debunked conspiracy theory claiming Hillary Clinton was responsible for the 2016 death of Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich.

“He then offered to pay off all of my credit card debt, plus bring me a check for $20,000 if I would do one thing,” the woman said.

She said Christensen was reluctant to explain specifics and urged her to download Signal, a secure messaging app.

“I downloaded the app and he called me on that app a few minutes later,” the woman said. “He said (and I will never forget exactly what it was), ‘I want you to make accusations of sexual misconduct and workplace harassment against Robert Mueller, and I want you to sign a sworn affidavit to that effect.’”

The woman says she “immediately” hung up and deleted the app.

“I didn’t see Robert Mueller very much when I worked at Pillsbury, but when I did see him, he was always very polite to me, and was never inappropriate,” she said. “I don’t know what these people are looking for but I’m not going to be part of some kind of Washington, D.C., drama for any price.”

Mueller worked as an attorney at Pillsbury between 1973 and 1976. A spokesman for the law firm did not respond to emailed questions.

Within minutes of Carr’s statement, Burkman posted a video on Facebook announcing he plans to host a press conference in Arlington, Va., on Thursday focused on “the first of the sex assault victims of Robert Mueller.”

“Mueller has done bad things to a number of women, the first of whom is coming out this Thursday,” Burkman said, without providing evidence or specifics.

Burkman later tweeted that “the allegation of paying a woman” is “false” but wouldn’t comment on whether Christensen works for him or who he is.

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NBC News reported the suspected anti-Mueller smear campaign may have been co-concocted by Surefire Intelligence, a self-professed “intel agency” that appears to have been founded by Jacob Wohl, a pro-Trump troll known for spreading misinformation and far-right conspiracy theories. The agency’s website domain shows Wohl’s email address was used to register it and a contact number on the site redirects to a voicemail that belongs to Wohl’s mother.

Ahead of Carr's announcement, the 20-year-old Wohl tweeted about a "scandalous story" he claimed was about to drop about Mueller.

Wohl later maintained to The News in a Twitter message he has nothing to do with the alleged plot to pay for Mueller claims, saying he only tweeted about the matter before the fact because he had heard of it “from a friend of a friend who’s a lobbyist in DC.”

Wohl stopped responding to messages after his connection to Surefire Intelligence was revealed.

Late Tuesday, Vermont Law School professor and author Jennifer Taub revealed a Surefire Intelligence employee identifying himself as Simon Frick recently offered her money if she came forward with claims about her “past encounters” with Mueller.

“I believe a basic telephone call, for which I would compensate you for at whatever rate you see fit (inside reason), would be a good place to start,” Frick said in an Oct. 22 email to Taub obtained by The News. “Tell me a decent method to contact you by telephone (or Signal, which would be ideal) and a beginning rate to talk with you about all encounters you've had with Special Counsel Mueller. We would likewise pay you for any references that you may have.”

Taub says she has never met Mueller, adding she forwarded Frick’s unsolicited email to the special counsel’s office.

Frick, who appears to not be a real person, has a LinkedIn profile featuring a profile photo of actor Christopher Waltz.

Trump and his allies have long tried to discredit Mueller, accusing him of orchestrating a politically motivated “witch hunt,” even though his probe into the President’s campaign has produced dozens of indictments against Trump associates and Russian government operatives, including Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Mueller is widely expected to deliver key findings of his collusion probe following next week’s congressional midterm elections.